Trading Yesterday
by mladymlord
Summary: The first time Karen ever 'sleeps' with Derek it's completely innocent. Well, almost.


The first time Karen ever 'sleeps' with Derek it's completely innocent. Well, almost. After four bottles of nearly empty wine and a heavy make out session on her couch the two wind up in her bedroom, because she wasn't about to send him home at nearly 5am when they had rehearsal in a mere three hours.

By the time they land on her bed most of their clothing's discarded, like bed crumbs trailing to her bedroom. Things don't get much further than that though because suddenly things are getting all too real and Karen knows, once they cross this threshold there's no going back; ever.

Even in the darkness Karen's sure she can see a faint trace of disappointment on the Directors face, but he simply nods and falls back against her bed. She falls asleep to the sound of his breathing and can't help the feeling in the pit of her stomach when she wakes the next morning to his arm around her waist and his chin pressed against her shoulder.

The second time the two sleep together Derek comes home to find a rather drunk Karen waiting for him on the couch in the foyer of his building. It was the night of the Tony's and it's late. His talk with Ivy had gone well, though they'd agreed rushing into a relationship wouldn't be good for anyone. He lets Karen up to his flat, rolling his eyes as she drunkenly babbles something about Jimmy and makes a reference to Bonnie & Clyde.

After he's fetched the girl a glass of water she asks to lie down before all but passing out on his couch. He frowns at this and quickly ushers her up to his room, she's his star and he's not about to let her sleep on a couch, no matter how much the bloody thing cost. He's about halfway out the door when he hears her faintly ask for him to stay with her. Sighing he shuts the door before crawling into bed next to her, reasoning that he'll move to one of the guest bedrooms once she's asleep.

Her breathing is soft and he can't help but watch as she stirs slightly as she slips into unconsciousness. Stifling a yawn he continues to watch her still form, he'd leave in a minute.

He wakes up to a crick in his neck, no doubt karma for not getting up and moving to the guest bedroom the night before. Not that he's complaining, especially when he looks down to find Karen using his chest as a pillow, her chestnut hair cascading over his chest.

The third time the pair wind up in bed together not much sleep actually occurs. Derek, from what Karen heard hasn't left his apartment for a few days, something she probably should have known already but between Ivy and the baby he's stopped dropping by Hit List as often as he used to. So when Ivy personally calls Karen, asking if she had seen or heard from him she's immediately concerned.

Once she's let the stage manager know she'll need the night off and that her understudy would need to take her place she pulls on her coat and heads out the door. She doesn't bother texting him to tell him she was coming over, he'll only insist she get turned away at the door.

Her suspicions are confirmed when she enters his apartment, which is a disaster by even her standards. Heading up stairs towards Derek's bedroom she sighs, knocking twice as she braces herself for what she's about to find.

The sight isn't pretty, there are enough empty bottles to kill a frat guy and based on the scruff alone it's rather apparent that Derek hasn't shaved, or probably showered, in days. He doesn't say much when she crawls onto his bed and takes a seat next to him, simply groans before downing another shot.

They sit in silence for a while. Honestly, she didn't think it would be this hard, she'd been sure that talking to Ivy about the miscarriage would have been awkwarder than this but no such luck.

"For the record, I think you would have made an excellent father." She says, watching him out of the corner of her eye for any hint of emotion, for proof that he hasn't actually closed himself off completely. Earning nothing but silence in response Karen grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze before trailing her thumb over the rough callused skin. The two sit like that for a while, only a small cough coming from Derek breaking the silence and when she looks over at him she's sure she can see tears in his eyes.

Neither of them knows who falls asleep first but sometime after four am the two are passed out cold, hands still tightly intertwined.

The next morning Karen can feel Derek's gaze on her and upon peaking an eye open her suspicions are confirmed. She doesn't call him out on it however, just continues to be asleep until she hears him get up and make his way to the bathroom. When she hears the shower running she opens her eyes and knows she can call the night a success.

She winds up staying for a few days, not quite trusting him on his own. They don't do much; in fact the two rarely leave his bed other than when Karen insists they need to eat something. Still, they fall asleep almost every night with Derek's arm loosely around Karen, often waking with Karen's head on his chest. Neither of them ever says anything about it; it's just a comfortable arrangement between friends, nothing more.

"We were going to name her Ella," Derek says, shaking Karen out of her reverie. The brunette's unsure how to respond but Derek continues, leaving her no need to. "We bought the crib, picked out paint colours for the nursery, hell, I even got her a stupid doll I saw at a shop on my way home one evening."

Looking at him Karen bites her lip. She'd never pictured Derek as the father type but now, seeing how devastated he is by losing his chance she knows without a shadow of a doubt that he would have been amazing at it.

"You know you can always have another chance at this." She says, hand reaching out to cover his as their eyes meet.

"But what if I don't?"

The question startles Karen and she's unsure of how to answer the question so without thinking she leans forward, capturing his lips with her own as she kisses him softly. She pulls away rather quickly, eyes searching Derek's as she tries to gage his reaction. Before she knows what's happening he's kissing her, it's a little rougher than the first kiss but it's full of a need she understands all too well.

It doesn't take long until he's on top of her, his weight resting on his arms as they continue to kiss. Running his tongue over her bottom lip Karen's quickly part, their tongues eagerly rediscovering the long forgotten territory.

They take their time, slowly discovering one another's bodies for the first time. The last time, though they stopped before anything had actually happened had been rushed and heated, this time however, it was even more passionate.

Karen's pretty sure she's on cloud nine as she falls back against the pillows and after casting a glance over at Derek she's pretty sure he feels about the same. Her breathing is only just starting to regulate again and she can't help but smile at the fact.

Pulling the sheets up over her Karen feels a warm hand swoop across her stomach, instantly pulling her flush against him.

"Thank you," he mumbles, pressing a kiss to her shoulder blade.

Nodding in response she pulls his hand up to her lips and kisses it before letting it fall back across her bare midriff.

It doesn't take long for either one of them to fall asleep, both seemingly content with the knowledge that it'll be a long time until either one of them have to worry about sleeping alone again.


End file.
